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Corticosteroids do not alter mucosal permeability after subclinical intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat

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Abstract

Maternal administration of corticosteroids is thought to decrease the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants. To determine if this protection is mediated by mucosal stabilization, we tested the effect of prenatal and postnatal steroids in a model of subclinical ischemia-reperfusion injury in immature rats. Ten-day and 6-week-old rats were subjected to superior mesenteric artery occlusion for 10 min or to sham operation. Ileal mucosal permeability to labelled chromium EDTA (51CrEDTA) was assessed 30 min after reperfusion. Animals received 3 mg/kg betamethasone, 50 mg/kg hydrocortisone, 2 mg/kg dexamethasone, or saline for 3 days prior to the experiment and at the time of laparotomy. To test the effect of prenatal steroid administration, pregnant rats were treated with betamethasone, dexamethasone, or saline daily for 3 days prior to term delivery. Permeability was then tested in the newborns at 10 days of age. Ten-minute occlusion resulted in a significant increase in permeability to 51CrEDTA in all animals. There was no significant attenuation of the ischemia-reperfusion-induced permeability increase by any steroid at either age or by prenatally administered steroids. We conclude that protective mechanisms other than mucosal stabilization, such as decreased neutrophil infiltration or inhibition of inflammatory mediators, must therefore be postulated and tested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery and Intestinal Diseases Research Unit, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, USA

    Jacob C. Langer & Sarvjit S. Sohal

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  1. Jacob C. Langer
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  2. Sarvjit S. Sohal
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Langer, J.C., Sohal, S.S. Corticosteroids do not alter mucosal permeability after subclinical intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat. Pediatr Surg Int 9, 66–69 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00176114

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00176114

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